2 Drown After Flight From Police

Youth Shot, Two Drown In Flight From Police

February 13, 1992|By MATTHEW KAUFFMAN; Courant Staff Writer

BRIDGEPORT — Two people, including a 12-year-old boy, drowned early Wednesday after their car hurtled into a creek during a police chase. A 14-year-old boy, shot by police during the chase, was rescued from the icy water and hospitalized in critical condition.

Police scuba divers searched Cedar Creek and recovered the bodies of 12-year-old Correy Jones and 28-year-old Michael Townes, both of Bridgeport. Police do not believe the two are related to each other or to the 14-year-old.

Bridgeport police Sgt. Paul Lengyel gave this account:

The chase began about 1:30 a.m. in Norwalk after police there attempted to stop a Cadillac that has been linked to a robbery this month in Bridgeport. The car sped away and entered I-95 northbound, with Norwalk and state police in pursuit.

At Exit 26, in Bridgeport, the car left the highway and briefly became stuck. A Norwalk police officer and his police dog approached the car, which then sped backward toward the officer. Police opened fire on the car, and the driver reversed direction and drove off. A few blocks away, the driver made a fatal mistake and turned the speeding car toward the darkened water, apparently mistaking a parking lot for a side street.

The car crashed through a fence, bounced off a concrete abutment and slammed into the water about 30 feet from the shore.

Police saw three people scramble out the passenger-side door. The 14-year-old was the last out, leading police to conclude he may have been driving, Lengyel said.

A state trooper jumped into the water and pulled out the 14-year-old, whose name was not released. Police lost sight of the other two. Their bodies were recovered several hours later.

Lengyel said the 14-year-old, who was being treated for water in his lungs and a gunshot wound in the shoulder, will be charged with two counts of attempted assault for allegedly trying to run down the police officer and his dog. Lengyel said the boy will face two counts because the dog is technically a police officer